When can you consider yourself a pro?

[Master_Chibi]

I am a pro because master chibi always loses to me :clapdos:

Hey, everyone’s got to give to charity.

[ELSALVADORPOWER9001]

oooh snap :o

[xes]

If you have to ask then you know you aren’t

or, being a pro is like being a ‘top player’. If you have to say it yourself, you’re not

[tataki]

Oh FGC, you play with silly words all day like it means anything… “esports”, “pro”, etc.

The get paid part is kinda funny because sponsors don’t play athletes for their actual performance in sports, but for their popularity and how they can convince people to buy unrelated products, since sports isn’t a productive work anymore. So let’s say one day Basketball is still skillful but it stops being popular among spectators for whatever reason, no one will pay for your amazing ability to score 3 pointers anymore since it’s not really productive.

So basically the answer is “when you become popular and have influence on stupid people to buy stuff” and that doesn’t even require you to be good at the games. (Gootecks, Maximilian etc.)

[Scrub_Saibot]

When you play for money. That is the categorical definition of “pro gamer”.

[DanDan]

I’m pro as fuck.
because I play offline.

[Bakuhakubasugasu]

Money, sponsors, haters, dick riders and good placings.

Deuces~

[xes]

Oh FGC, you play with silly words all day like it means anything… “esports”, “pro”, etc.

The get paid part is kinda funny because sponsors don’t play athletes for their actual performance in sports, but for their popularity and how they can convince people to buy unrelated products, since sports isn’t a productive work anymore. So let’s say one day Basketball is still skillful but it stops being popular among spectators for whatever reason, no one will pay for your amazing ability to score 3 pointers anymore since it’s not really productive.

So basically the answer is “when you become popular and have influence on stupid people to buy stuff” and that doesn’t even require you to be good at the games. (Gootecks, Maximilian etc.)

And yet try to find a pro athlete that’s not amazingly good at their game, whatever it is, or for that matter, the large number of professional athletes paid many times what any of us make that never get a real endorsement deal in their life. Skill might not be the only thing players are paid for, but its’ certainly an important thing, even the most important thing.

~~

Really though, ‘pro’ in the FGC means something slightly different than in most other places, around here it just means paid or sponsored. It doesnt’ really mesh with what the word means in the rest of the world, but its close enough.

[SynchroMax]

I’d never want to give myself that title. But to answer the Q. I’d say you’re a Pro when you get a Sponsor, Come Top 3 in a Tournament for the first time. Or just be GDLK 24/7.

What do you personally see wrong with calling yourself a pro?

[SynchroMax]

I’d never want to give myself that title. But to answer the Q. I’d say you’re a Pro when you get a Sponsor, Come Top 3 in a Tournament for the first time. Or just be GDLK 24/7.

What do you personally see wrong with calling yourself a pro?

[Huggy_Bear]

In my opinion, it can make you look a bit big-headed and dickish.

I would say ‘IMO’ but it never stop people from jumping on you.

[tataki]

And yet try to find a pro athlete that’s not amazingly good at their game, whatever it is, or for that matter, the large number of professional athletes paid many times what any of us make that never get a real endorsement deal in their life. Skill might not be the only thing players are paid for, but its’ certainly an important thing, even the most important thing.

So what? There’s no real correlation between skill and sponsorship (read: popularity) because it (popularity) also depends on other factors just as much. For example: You need to play the right game and belong to the right nationality. Much similar to sports, American spectators don’t give a shit about non-American players in general. So to be popular among them you’ll have to do something really special to get their attention, like coming to USA and taking people’s money.

Name players from Taiwan that aren’t Gamerbee? Korean players that aren’t Poongko, Infiltration or Laugh? Compare that to the American scene where everyone can recognize even the B, C and D tier of players, if they have some schtick going for them. (Like “having a vagina” in Sherry’s case.)

On the other hand you have players like GO1 who is like in the S tier of players in Japan, which also means the world, but the games he plays are not “spectator popular” outside of Japan and he himself is “just some Japanese guy”, so he’ll never get sponsored in his lifetime but that does not make him a lesser player by any means.

[xes]

So what? There’s no real correlation between skill and sponsorship (read: popularity) because it (popularity) also depends on other factors just as much. For example: You need to play the right game and belong to the right nationality. Much similar to sports, American spectators don’t give a shit about non-American players in general. So to be popular among them you’ll have to do something really special to get their attention, like coming to USA and taking people’s money.

Name players from Taiwan that aren’t Gamerbee? Korean players that aren’t Poongko, Infiltration or Laugh? Compare that to the American scene where everyone can recognize even the B, C and D tier of players, if they have some schtick going for them. (Like “having a vagina” in Sherry’s case.)

On the other hand you have players like GO1 who is like in the S tier of players in Japan, which also means the world, but the games he plays are not “spectator popular” outside of Japan and he himself is “just some Japanese guy”, so he’ll never get sponsored in his lifetime but that does not make him a lesser player by any means.

What you’re talking about is exposure, people watch events that are promoted here and that show at a convenient time (timezones and all that). It’s only natural that we know the names of people we actually see playing more.

And believe me, I could go on a massive 58 page diatribe about the Bullshit that is ‘celebrity’ in the FGC, there are plenty of lampreys sucking on their connections to more important/successful people, it’s a definite thing.

Still, you’re going a bridge too far in that in real sports as compared to fighting game, skill is paramount. Hell even for fighting games sometimes. Fchamp is a prominent sponsored player, and he wouldn’t win any popularity contests anywhere. He’s a notorious ass, and didn’t start with particularly strong connections either. And yet, still a sponsored player, simply because he’s super good and worked really hard at it.

[factory9]

when you can suck a dick like a champ and get NOS girls all over you

[tataki]

Fchamp is a prominent sponsored player, and he wouldn’t win any popularity contests anywhere. He’s a notorious ass, and didn’t start with particularly strong connections either.

Actually he has a ton of fans and when he asked for money to do shit on stream (“donations”, “raffles”) he got more than enough of it from people.

[Bob_Sagat]

“Whatcha thinking 'bout?”

http://shoryuken.com/forum/data/avatars/l/6/6114.jpg?1342670975

“Oh I dunno… Pro stuff, I guess.”

http://shoryuken.com/forum/data/avatars/l/60/60172.jpg?1340269224

[Syke1]

When PETA tries to stop you from getting $$$$$$$

[eltrouble]

Good God, this thread is still going?

Pro stands for professional. You’re not a professional at anything unless you’re getting paid to do it. When someone pays you to play fighting games, then you can consider yourself a pro. Usually this requires that 1) you’re a pretty damn good player, and 2) you’re a good image for the company, and are able to somehow market their product/services.

/thread